Custody
by dragonscales00
Summary: Suffering two years under experimentation due to her actions during the invasion, Shayera is now a mother of five who were birthed from different people. Terrified of the League after the invasion, Shayera has only one reliable ally. That is until the League accidentally rescued her and discoveries are made.
1. The Eggs

Shayera flexed her shoulders but didn't remove her arms from her makeshift nest. She glanced up groggily into her arms, her wings moving out of the way to reveal five eggs settled together. Shayera moved her body a little so she can get more comfortable again. She has been protecting her eggs for a few weeks now, her body still weak after birthing five eggs. The most a Thanagarian woman can lay is just three eggs. She put her body through hell to make sure all five survived the birthing process.

Weakly getting up to reposition her eggs, Shayera folded her wings back over them to provide extra warmth. Had she been on Thanagar, Incubators would have been provided for her eggs to provide a safe, stable, and cozy environment. Instead she is on Earth: a planet she had adopted as her home and betrayed in one go. Shayera sighed in shame, worried what the future holds for her children.

After fighting the security and the staff, Shayera is trapped in her cell with her clutch after threatening to break her eggs open and slicing her throat open. The head scientist, Dr. Munroe, ordered to leave her, intending to starve her out. That was five days ago.

Shayera shook her head, fighting the fatigue. It has been five days since she had a decent shower, a meal, and sleep. Dr. Monroe wants her children for more experimentation, having forced Shayera through several medical procedures to ensure that her body could birth more than she could handle. With five eggs, each one inseminated with sperm from different men, Shayera nearly died when the birthing process began. It was only by Dr. Munroe's need to have her alive that saved her in the end. He wanted to create a superior race of humans, using her biology to further advance his work.

Exiled by the very planet she betrayed yet saved in the end, Shayera has little to no hope of ever getting rescued. Tears ran down her face as she ignored her growling stomach. She won't die of starvation but dehydration is a serious possibility. Shayera shuddered as she tried to swallow but couldn't. Coughing, she turned her head away from her eggs to prevent any possible harmful bacteria from seeping through the eggshells. Her body screamed at her for rest but going to sleep meant that Dr. Monroe will easily take her children away.

Shayera wanted to scream in frustration but immediately stiffened after hearing the doors open. Looking past her cell bars, she watched as a lone guard walked up to her, semi-automic in hand. His black and dark orange mask reflected against the dim light as he walked closer to her. Shayera glanced at the security camera to see that the red light is off, so she finally relaxed and withdrew her wings. He walked over to her nest and lightly caressed one of the eggs, a light brown colored one. Shayera curled up and rested her arms and wings, knowing her guardian is there to give her rest.

She had heard of him before, during her days in the Justice League. Slade Wilson is a dangerous mercenary to the world but here, in her prison, he is her angel. Shayera watched as he opened her cell door and take her into his arms. She snuggled into his armor, ignoring the little jabs they made into her skin. He stroked her feathers on her wings, right where the wings met with her shoulder blades. Shayera purred and momentarily almost slept when he said, "Today is the day you'll be free."

"How?" asked Shayera, throat sore and scratchy.

"I have it planned. When the time comes, all you have to do is sit back and watch." said Slade as he brushed her hair to the side. Shayera shuddered at the contact, needing more to feel safe and wanted. He stroked her hair, each one enjoying the silence of each other's presence as they waited out their hour together. Shayera glanced at her eggs and sighed into Slade's chest, almost clinging on to him as he stood up to leave and return to his services. Shayera understood that whatever Slade wanted, it involved her but starved for comforting contact Shayera didn't care. She resumed her vigilant watch over her children, watching as he left the room and the camera turned back on with his departure.

Shayera felt her body scream again but she ignored it, diligent to protect her eggs. Shayera moved her eggs a bit to make them more central when the alarms rang out. For the first time since leaving the League, Shayera felt hope. Screams of rage and threats were heard outside her room, Shayera quickly scrambled on top her eggs, using her body as a shield and spreading her wings out to act as a secondary shield. Covering her eggs with her thin blanket, Shayera waited as the noises got louder and closer to her room.

Silence.

Shayera trembled in fear at what might have happened. Did Slade get overwhelmed? Was this all for naught? Shayera would have lamented further when a green light surrounded the door and crushed it open. Eyes wide open, Shayera didn't believe it and her exhaustion mixed in with her fear almost made her fall on top of her eggs. Trembling, Shayera watched as John Stewart flew in, surrounded by the green aura of the Green Lantern power. Following him came Diana, Superman, and Batman. Shivering, Shayera did her best to hold still as they have yet to notice her cell in the dark room.

"Look for any records that can implicate Munroe's experiments. We need to have evidence or else the trial will be placed in the back burner for who knows how long." ordered Batman. As John illuminated the entire room with his ring, all eyes were now focused on Shayera's trembling form.

Shayera watched as shock, surprise, and horror invaded their eyes at the sight of her. No doubt that they thought her gone or dead and out of their lives. Shayera trembled harder, doing her best to remain upright and conscious. Is this what Slade talked about?

"Shay?" whispered John. Shayera curled even tighter around her eggs, praying to all deities that they don't notice them. Her former friends walked towards her cell, slowly and cautiously. Shayera tried to swallow but with hardly any moisture in her throat, she made a small whimper. They stopped in their step and Batman glanced around the room to see a large tv screen across from them. Walking towards it, he turned it on to see Metropolis News playing in the middle of a segment. Shayera turned her head to it, wondering what they said about her today. The others crowded around the television, never seeing this report before.

"Snapper Carr reporting to you live today April 28. I have here Superman representing the Justice League today, keeping us informed with the hunt for Hawkgirl."

Superman balked while the others stood dumbfounded. The Superman in the tv is an exact carbon copy of the one watching the tv. As the interview continued, they watched as the fake Superman fed the fake reporter lies. Superman had just talked with Carr after rescuing him from another of Livewire's attacks. This isn't the Carr he had seen.

"Superman? Any reports on the hunt for Hawkgirl."

"Not today Snap," said the fake Superman, "I promise you though that the League is well on top of the search. Once we have Hawkgirl apprehended she will be turned over to the United States government in order to be interrogated of possible future Thanagarian attacks."

"Superman? What if she were to resist?"

"You don't have to worry, Snap. One way or another, she will be cooperative."

The news ended there as the tv automatically shut off. Turning towards Shayera in her cell, Superman wanted to quickly approach her and tell her that it wasn't him but seeing the frightful gleam in her eyes told him that she wouldn't believe him.

"Hera," breathed out Diana quietly, "They were experimenting on her."

"No doubt taking advantage of her exile and current situation." noted Batman. Of all things to run across, his former teammate looking near death was not one of them. It angered him to see her be taken advantage off like this, but he is pretty sure that John's anger is more likely near apocalyptic.

Slowly approaching her, John reached into the cell and rubbed the back of her head. Shayera flinched and gave another whimper, making him pull back. Looking her over to see if he had hurt her in some way, he realized that he had only frightened her. John wanted to take her in and hush her to comfort and sleep. Her entire body screamed abuse to him and he wanted to go back into the lab and pulverize Dr. Munroe for doing this to Shayera.

Sitting down across from Shayera. John noticed the awkward way she was hunched over. Tilting his head to the side, he could see something under her. Her tired and deep sunken eyes kept him from advancing towards her but he needed to know what she is protecting to understand how to help her.

Using his ring, he constructed a mattress under Shayera, causing her to cry out.

"No! NO! NOOOO!" yelled Shayera as she began to scramble back to her children. Where is Slade? He promised she will be free with her children. He promised! The League was going to ensure no other traitor could be born in this planet!

Diana looked on in shock as John revealed five eggs resting in a makeshift nest. She looked at the desperation and fear in Shayera's face as her skinny and frail body tried to resist John's power. As much as Diana wanted to carry her resentment towards Shayera, she couldn't help but pity her.

Batman followed the wire connecting to the tv to find a hidden wall. After prying it open, computers were aligned in the room with a single Monitor to show video files being played automatically.

Severing the wire connecting to the television, Batman played video file after file. Each file was a different recording of various League members vowing to punish Hawkgirl. For the more extreme videos, whoever the clones are even promised to exterminate any Thanagarian-related invader, regardless of age or innocence. On the broader scale, Shayera would have been able to see through the ruse but she has been missing for over two years.

Two years under the experimentation of Dr. Munroe would definitely warp her logic and reasoning. Looking at John as he placed Shayera back down gently, he watched as Shayera desperately reorganized her eggs in her small nest of blankets before wrapping her arms around them and extending her wings over them to protect them. Batman looked over the files again and took a deep breath. This is going to be a long night. Noticing other files, Batman opened them up and watched as medical files opened up. The further he read through them, the more guilt and anger began to pile up. Knowing that the others need to know about this, Batman made the order to move out.

Slade watched from across the building to see them load the eggs and Shayera into the Javelin. From the looks of it, she appeared to have been sedated, no doubt panicking about the League's appearance. The Lantern had constructed a comfortable makeshift bed for her and the eggs. He narrowed his eyes at the League. They had ruined his plans to get the eggs and Shayera to his safehouse.

They are his. The League has no business taking what belongs to him. He walked away, intending to plan for a break in and rescue. The League has no idea what they are heading into, mark his words.

 ** _Hey readers! Hopefully you liked this story. Tell me honestly :) it's the only way I know how you guys feel about it and where I can improve. Shout out to LadyShayera for the story idea :) also for more reading I'd recommend The Tinkling Piano by Myno. It's a new story and it has an interesting storyline :)_**


	2. The Second Rescue

_**The Second Rescue**_

Shayera trembled violently as she continued to stoop over her eggs, now wrapped in hospital blankets. Shayera wore sweatpants and a sweater loaned to her by Wally, two holes cut in the back to allow her wings to be free. Her back was to the camera, her wings flared a bit to prohibit her eggs from being seen. It has already been a week and so far, Wally is the only one Shayera would allow to be near her and her clutch. Bruce and John watched through the monitors to see if she would budge even just a little. The last time they had tried to get her to move, she had aggressively fought them off, throwing hospital equipment at them and syringes. After that, they agreed that Wally should be the mediator in between them and to try and convince that they were there to help.

Shayera still fears them despite their efforts to ease her back into safety. She never sleeps until Wally shows up for the night and stays in the room with her, both talking quietly about Wally's life since they had last seen each other.

"She's still not responsive to the therapist?" Bruce and John turned from the monitor to see Diana at the doorway, Superman and J'onn trailing behind her.

"So far, she has managed to either frighten away anyone who comes near her eggs or she stays mute during the questioning." John rubbed his tired eyes as he looked away from the monitor. The trial for Dr. Monroe is fast approaching, his crimes on human experimentation and illegal genetic research has made him into an international criminal, wanted in nearly all continents of the world. His mysterious benefactor remains unknown, but Monroe is due for an international trial.

"How are the… kids? I guess that would be the term?" Superman awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, unsure how to proceed.

"The embryos are developing healthily," Bruce turned the computer screen on the opposite wall to show x-rays of the 5 eggs. Black and white images , "Some of them have inherited Shayera's wings while others didn't but they're still healthy at least."

"Do we know who's DNA Dr. Monroe used for the eggs?"

"We're still in the dark about that. Monroe had several of his external drives encrypted with military precision. It's going to take some time to break the codes apart before we can learn more about the process."

"When the babies… hatch.. Will we allow Shayera to be caring for them?"

"What kind of question is that?" Wally had entered the room just in time to hear Diana ask her question, and quite frankly, he's pissed.

"Easy Wally, she's asking a valid question." Wally sharply turned his head to glare at Bruce, almost sneering at the Dark Knight. Since Shayera's return, Wally has been extra protective over her and unusually cold towards the rest of the League. Whether it be defending Shayera from the new Leaguers or butting heads with the original team in how to handle Shayera's situation, Wally became almost a stranger to them.

"It's not valid. Shayera is going to be a great mom and I'll be there to support her even if none of you want to take a part in this."

"Wally you need to be serious right now, this is a very complicated situation we are in."

"No, this is a very complicated situation that _she_ is in. I didn't see any of you give a rat's ass about Shayera up until last week. Not even when I asked for help in looking for her." Wally could still remember the call he received from Shayera before she had disappeared.

" _Flash?" Wally jumped up from bed, careful not to disturb Linda. He quickly moved to his living room to speak better on the phone._

" _Shay? Where've you been?"_

" _Flash, I thi-"_

" _Shay? Shay?!" Silence rang on the other end until the call closed. Wally stood in his living room listening to the dial tone, worried about Shayera. The next morning when he presented his worries to Batman, he was told to not worry about it and that Shayera had made her decision at the Invasion that they will not get involved with her._

"Wally we were at a very vulnerable time and the wounds were still fresh."

"That's a poor excuse and you know it," Wally and John were toe to toe with each other, each one daring the other to back down.

"Just be serious about this Wally, we need to look at all alternatives."

"Alternatives? You know Shayera told me she reached out to each one of you asking for help but you all ignored her. Some team."

"Wally you are stepping out of bounds right now."

"I am? How about you? What are _you_ doing here? You kept telling anyone who'll listen that you've been over Shayera. Shouldn't you be at home with your wife?" Silence rang through the room and John kept his mouth shut, knowing that he'll be saying things he'll regret later. Wally turned his back to John and entered Shayera's room, quickly morphing his face from anger to calm. Shayera turned her head to see who entered her room and relaxed when she greeted Wally. She withdrew her arms and wings, allowing Wally to gently sit down next to her and lightly brush one of the eggs.

"How are you?" Shayera shrugged and gently moved her eggs around, ensuring that the eggs remained at constant temperature.

"Shay, I know you don't want to talk about it, but you should know that I'm here."

"I know, I just… I don't… I don't know what's going to happen now." Shayera felt tears prick behind her eyes and she quickly rubbed her eyes to stop herself from breaking down.

"You're here with me, Shay. I promise I won't let nothing happen to you or your kids. What kind of godfather will I be if I didn't look after my god kids?" Wally gave her a large smile which eased Shayera's anxieties.

"What is… godfather?"

"The movie or me?"

"What?"

"Kidding. Godfather means that I am the honorary uncle that gets to spoil your kids and be the best guardian ever in existence. You definitely don't want Bruce or Clark be godfather if only because you don't want your kids to have a stick up their ass all the time. Diana could be godmother but let me remind you that she doesn't know how to take care of boys. J'onn could be co-godfather with me if you want but trust me, I'm more fun. John… well there's some tough history there so I don't know if you want to have him near your and the kids."

"H-How is everyone?" The real question she wanted to ask is loud and clear: Is everyone still angry with me?

"They're dealing with a lot of stuff right now, but don't worry about them. You and me? We're brother and sister til the end." Shayera gave a watery smile, tears running down freely and she gave Wally a large hug, arms and wings around him. Looking into the camera, Wally knew that the rest of the team was still in the observation room, listening in. He hopes Superman and Batman heard him and John as well. There's no point in disguising how disappointed he is in them.

"D-Do I have to have godmother too?"

"Nah, unless you want Linda to be Godmomma! I still need to introduce you to her. She's a real gem, Shay." With that, Wally went into a whole essay about the greatness that was his fiancée. Shayera listened attentively, a nice distraction from her current anxieties.

"Kid's going to be the next great Elton John the more he talks about Linda." John's musing was mostly ignored, everybody in deep thought about how best to address the current issue at hand. They need to find out who the father of the eggs are and how best to approach Shayera about the child rearing aspect. Is she capable of raising five children on her own? Will she accept their help?

"Excuse me?" Turning around, the heroes watched as a doctor walked further inside with a medical tray on hand and a clipboard.

"Is Shayera scheduled for another test?" asked Diana.

"The Flash has promised me that I'll be able to draw a few blood samples from her since she's been extremely opposed to having medical staff near her. He told me to come down around this time."

"You may go inside Doctor; we're finished with our business here." Superman led the rest of the team out, intent on letting the doctor do her job. As each hero went about their business, the doctor waited in the observation until the Flash stepped inside.

"I'll be staying here just in case… you know… she flips out. I already told her you were going to draw some blood samples and that other… you know… lady stuff." The Doctor smiled at him and was about to walk into the room when the alarm rang out.

"Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern, Flash, report to the Monitor Room immediately." Wally gave an anxious look at the Doctor who waved him away.

"Duty calls. I'll call in backup if things go south." Flash gave a nod and sped away. The doctor waited a few seconds before placing the medical tray down and discreetly pressing down on a small switch by the side. Waiting a few more seconds, the doctor moved into Shayera's room and looked down at her phone. The security camera feeds were now under her control and she watched as all the founders left with the exception of Wonder Woman, who left to the lower levels, well away from the hospital..

Walking into the room, the doctor noted how protectively Shayera stood over her eggs. Clicking on her phone, a small EMP wave began to pulse out. She walked to the patient and said, "He says that he'll be here soon."

Surprised at the doctor's words, Shayera watched as the young woman removed her brown wig to reveal white flowy hair. Removing the doctor's coat, the woman wore a combat uniform with a familiar shade of black and orange.

"I'm sorry, but I hope this doesn't put a damper on bonding later." Confused, Shayera was about to ask what when a sharp kick to the head knocked her out.

Rose Wilson felt terrible as the ex-hero fell unconscious, gently leading her down to the floor but close enough to her eggs. An explosion soon rocked the entire satellite fortress and Rose knew her father is on his way. Rose got into battle position and was ready for anything; the EMP pulse from her phone should keep the League from investigating the clinic for a bit, especially since her half-brother Joseph currently inhabits the body of the hero Booster Gold, throwing confusing advice left and right.

The doors opened and in walked Slade Wilson. Rose nodded at her father and he nodded back, tossing her equipment. As Rose went to stand guard at the door, Slade watched Shayera sleep. He glanced at the eggs and lightly brushed over the light brown egg.

Nothing… before a light tap was felt from inside the shell. His son is growing strong. Slade gave a nod to his daughter and she quickly helped him gather the eggs on a gurney, the rails up to ensure they don't roll out. Slade carried Shayera and the two waited until Booster Gold appeared at the doorway.

"I managed to clear the way, but we have to move fast." Slade nodded at his son and followed him out. As he said, the way was clear and they managed to make it to the Monitor room. Unconscious staff was all that's left in the room and Slade allowed his daughter to enter first with the eggs, as she teleported away the doors burst open to reveal the Green Lantern and Wonder Woman.

"Put. Her. Down." John's aura was flaring dangerously, his rage peaking at seeing Shayera unconscious and in the hands of a dangerous mercenary. He had immediately flown up to the Watchtower at breakneck speed to help defend the tower.

"I would Lantern, but it seems that you're at a disadvantage." Slade pressed on his belt buckle that triggered multiple bombs all throughout the Watchtower. Joseph left the body of Booster Gold and quickly entered the transporter and teleported away to help his sister load the eggs on their escape vehicle.

"Tick Tock Lantern, by now you have several of your colleagues fighting to stay within the Watchtower." Diana and John hesitated but as another set of explosions rocked the tower, they quickly leapt into action to help their friends. Diana quickly moved inside the tower while John flew outside and watched as several heroes tried to fight against the vacuum of space. Using his Lantern ring at full power, John covered the entire tower in one huge bubble while also shielding several staff from more explosions caused by either Slade's bombs or equipment malfunctioning.

Panicking over Shayera and the threat of his friends dying made his mind slightly unfocused. The size of the bubble is another problem. If it had been the old Watchtower from before the Thanagarian Invasion, he would have no problem in keeping the bubble intact since the original tower was not as big as the current one. Keeping people safe from the explosions, Diana shouting instructions at him through the ear piece about where to expand his shield next, the stress of having Shayera back was almost getting to him.

By the time Diana managed to round up everyone to a safe location in the Watchtower, Slade had left with Shayera. Many heroes and staff had to be hospitalized while those that weren't were demanding answers. All of the Founders returned to the tower, shocked and angry that they haven't been able to help more. Batman immediately began to check the Watchtower's mainframe while Superman helped John quickly repair the tower with Flash helping clean up the inside. Diana was left to interrogate Booster Gold for his supposed treason.

"Honestly, I wasn't in control!" Booster Gold, terrified of being in the presence of an angry amazon, willingly placed himself under her Lasso of Truth, "I was on my way out when I suddenly wasn't aware of anything until after everything happened. I swear!"

"Does anyone know who this man was?" No one knew who the mysterious foe was, his blonde hair being the only indicator to his identity. The rest of his body had been covered in a white and black body suit with gold gloves and a belt. It was difficult to try to identify this new player but some of the Founders had their own questions. What does Slade Wilson want with Shayera and her clutch?

"Slade was one of the participants in Monroe's experiments with Shayera. He gave some of his sample to be included in the mix of the other samples in exchange for his services." Batman displayed the files from one of the encrypted drives he managed to break into while he had been briefly away from the Tower.

"Do you know the identity of the men from the other samples?" John felt sick to his stomach just thinking about Shayera's time under the mad doctor's experiments.

"Files show that Shayera suffered through several miscarriages due to either the samples being incompatible with her alien genetics until Monroe managed to obtain the DNA of several heroes from the League."

"Whose?" Shocked at this information made them nervous and anxious, wondering how big this revelation could be.

"Files indicate the DNA of Green Lantern has been used. DNA of deceased heroes Dr. Ray Palmer a.k.a. The Atom, Carter Hall a.k.a. Hawkman, and Francisco Ramon a.k.a. the Vibe were also used." Fury swept through the group, the audacity of the mad doctor to use the DNA of their fallen comrades in his experiments and to subject Shayera to that type of torture. One can only imagine the grief and pain felt by a mother who miscarried multiple times and forcible impregnated again for the cycle to repeat.

"How do we find Shayera then? I'm sure you know how to find Wilson right?" Anxious, Wally didn't want to imagine what Shayera might be going through.

"I'm doing everything in my power to locate him, but like me, Wilson is thorough and won't leave any footprints behind."

"I… have a child?" John couldn't comprehend this information. He already has a baby on the way with Vixen… and now he has one on the way with Shayera….

"Don't worry John," Wally placed a comforting hand on John's shoulder, "We'll find them."

John only nodded, not trusting his voice or brain to say the right words. He doesn't want Wally to know that he didn't want this connection to exist between him and Shayera.

"How are you feeling? I'm really sorry I had to knock you out but we didn't want the League to drag your name around."

"I-It's ok." Shayera soothed the young woman, Rose Wilson, and gave her a side hug as she followed the young woman to her new room.

"I have to say though, I thought dad was lying when he said he had this connection with you. But then he showed me the feed he stole from Monroe on the cameras and even told me that one of the eggs is his kid?"

"The light brown one," confirmed Shayera, "I was about ready to kill myself when he began to visit me. In the labs, in my cell… I could never thank him enough for guiding me through that time."

"Dad being heroic for once huh? Never thought I'd see that day."

"People can be surprising and not what they appear. I'm a good example of it after all." Seeing the guilt and shame creep into Shayera's face, Rose quickly interjected her thoughts.

"You picked us in the end though, so you're still 100% good guy in my books." Shayera smiled at her words and gave Rose a goodnight. The fortress was definitely one worth admiring. Deep inside a mountain, Slade had reinforced the building, making sure that satellites and the Watchtower cannot spot their base. creating a cloak to their location that surrounds them for about a hundred miles: a perfect cloak for growing children.

Entering her room, Shayera glanced at her eggs as they were incubating. Slade had truly listened to her and built about as close as any human can get to a Thanagarian Incubation Pod. Feeling safe and relaxed for the first time in years felt liberating. Shayera didn't care if there might be some nefarious plot devised by Slade. She didn't care if he was only using her. So long as she knows for sure that her children were safe, she'll endure whatever is thrown at her by life.

 _ **Hey readers. Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been suffering through some depression lately and have felt that my life has been off course. I had to attend a few counseling sessions for a bit before I felt better. For a while I forgot why I enjoyed writing fanfiction and when I received several messages from different readers telling me why they enjoyed my writing and offering advice on how to improve my writing, I remembered that I love the community I participate in and that you are all genuine people who are fun to interact with. I hope you like the chapter and thank you all again :)**_


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